Animal I Have Become
by writerchickgirl
Summary: Song-fic to Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace. Ari-centric, based on his horrific life always felt sorry for him... . Angsty thoughts. T for... well, really kind of "just cuz". It probably could be K... I guess I'm just paranoid. R


**A/N: Okay, so I've never tried a one-shot before, much less a song-fic. But I really thought that this song fit Ari well, and I wanted to see on the site, so guess what? I'm doing it myself! And sorry if it sucks; this'll be written in about ten minutes.**

**Disclaimer: Max Ride is JP's, Animal I Have Become belongs to Three Days Grace.**

_I can't escape this hell_

_So many times I've tried_

_But I'm still caged inside_

He had always been trapped in a cage, either literally or figuratively, and he just couldn't get free, no matter what. They had taken away everything from him, and yet somehow they managed to take even more after that. No matter what he tried, he just couldn't get out of this God-forsaken hellhole.

_Somebody get me through this nightmare_

_I can't control myself_

Nobody ever bothered to try and help him, throughout it all, the pain of the experiments, of the torture, or, worst, his own father rejecting him. And eventually, he lost control, let the animal side of his instinct take over, blot out his rational thinking, and let his rage totally control him. It was the only way he could pretend.

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me_

_No one will ever change this animal I have become_

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal!_

_This animal, this animal_

Please, wouldn't someone just listen to him? See past his hulking, patchwork figure to the 7 year old that lay beneath? Wouldn't someone accept him, even seeing his darker side, seeing the strange, barely human thing he had become? Or was this whole world a lost cause, void of the kindness which he secretly desired so strongly?

_I can't escape myself_

_So many times I've lied_

_But there's still rage inside_

_Somebody get me through this nightmare_

_I can't control myself_

Sometimes he tried to be reasonable. To think about what Max and her Flock were thinking, why they left him behind. Why his _father_ left him behind, and ignored him in favor of a birdie that hated him. But he couldn't. He seemed to be just too far gone. His brain had become twisted and full of rage and hate, his actions rash and reckless, in desperate attempt to prove what? And to whom? He no longer knew. But he still cared. It was all he cared about: showing that he had enough worth to _someone_, that someone would just help him. Someday.

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me_

_No one will ever change this animal I have become_

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal_

He knew that, while he had been hoping it would be his father, watching him be too concerned about _Max_ to even acknowledge that his son had become a year older, if anyone could help him, it would be Max. And he hated her. Because she stole Jeb's love from him. But she was the only one whom he could ever truly trust and love, the only one who could ever see past his disfiguring experimentation. So he hated her and he loved her, equally.

_Somebody help me through this nightmare_

_I can't control myself_

_Somebody wake me from this nightmare_

_I can't escape this hell_

_This animal, this animal_

_This animal, this animal_

_This animal, this animal_

_This animal_

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me_

_No one will ever change this animal I have become_

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal!_

_This animal I have become_

He needed Max. Max was the only one who could, _would_, help. And he would convince her to help, somehow, before his time came. He would make sure of it.

**A/N: Soooo...... Does it totally suck? Feel free to be critical! I've never even tried something like this and I'm not totally sure I did it right.... so, yeah!**

**..::~REVIEW~::..**

**l**

**l**

**\/**


End file.
